April 26, 2009

Analysis: Week of 4/20 (Computer-assisted reporting)

The statistics relating to chemicals found in waterways were found using the U.S. Geological Survey Database. Areas with runoff were found with the Department of Agriculture database. The reporters needed to have the ability to connect to the internet and would need to know how to search. The reporter would need to know what terms to use and what key words are needed for getting correct results when searching.

12 people arrested after Dinkytown riot

Minneapolis police arrested twelve people Saturday after a riot in Dinkytown, KMSP-TV reported.

Of the twelve people arrested, five are currently students at the University, two are recent students and one is a future student, KARE-TV reported.

The riot occured during Spring Jam Weekend at the U which is typically a big weekend for parties. U of M police arrived at a large off-campus party on the 1400 block of 7th Street SE about 8 p.m., KARE-TV reported. These initial officers had rocks, bottles and debris thrown at them, Minneapolis Police Sgt. Jesse Garcia said.

The amount of students increased to about 500 at one point. The riot gear clad police responded to the crowd with foam bullets and tear gas.

Students started a large fire in the street, jumped on cars and attempted to flip them, causing property damage. Almost 60 police officers responded to the riots.

"This is not the kind-of behavior University of Minnesota students should engage in," Jerry Rinehart, the University's vice provost for student affairs said. "We're going to very vigorously look into each case."

Man dies when rushing water carries him into Mississippi River

Rushing rain water from a tunnel under the Marshall Avenue Bridge in St. Paul swept a man into the Mississippi River and killed him Sunday, WCCO-TV reported.

The man was exploring and taking pictures with a friend inside the tunnel before it filled with water, sending the two men down an embankment into the Mississippi River, St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said.

While one man died, the other was able to swim to shore. The man who died was Ian William Talty, 30, of Woodbury.

Rowers from the Minneapolis Rowing Club and the University of St. Thomas heard a cry for help, Doug Hennis of St. Thomas said.

The rowers used two aluminum boats to search for what they heard when they saw Talty floating facedown in the river. The rowers took Talty to shore but he could not be revived. He was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center.

While not identified in the story, the surviving man is 29-years-old and was a friend of Talty's KSTP-TV said.

Cruise ship uses gunfire to stop pirates

The crew of an Italian cruise ship fired upon Somali pirates Saturday when the pirates attempted to attack, CNN reported.

The cruise ship, which had 1,500 people onboard, was attacked by six Somali pirates in a speedboat, Italy's ANSA news agency said. The security crew defended the ship by firing back on the Somalis, causing them to flee.

"It was an emergency operation," the cruise ship company's director, Domenico Pellegrino, told the Associated Press. "They didn't expect such a quick response. They were surprised."

The cruise ship is owned by an Italian company and was returning to Italy after a cruise, ANSA reported. The attack occured about 180 miles north of the Seychelles. No one was injured.

Piracy is common off the coasts of Somalia, Kenya and the Gulf of Aden, an area that spans more than 1.1 million square miles.

Yahoo News said some analysts are predicting that the use of weapons could escalate violence around the Horn of Africa, where 100 ships were attacked by Somali ships last year.

April 19, 2009

Woman gets urinated on during airline flight

A three week jail sentence has been given to a 28-year-old man after he urinated on a 66-year-old woman during a Continential Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu last month, AOL News reported.

The victim was watching an in-flight movie during the flight to Hawaii on March 21 when Kingzio stood up and began urinating on her.

The victim pushed Kingzio back but he continued to urinate, CBS News reported. Kingzio was seated a row behind the woman's aisle seat and had been drinking and bothering other passengers throughout the flight.

The woman said the incident ruined her vacation and still causes her to suffer emotionally, U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo Jr said.

Kingzio will be placed under six months of supervised release following his release from prison. He will also undergo substance abuse treatment.

Man killed at White Castle in Hopkins

A man was killed early Sunday morning when a gunman fired shots during a dispute involving two groups of people at a Hopkins fast-food restaurant, Star Tribune reported. KSTP-TV has said the restaurant was a White Castle.

Two suspects are being held by police. Their identities have not yet been released.

Two groups of people began arguing and fighting in the parking lot of the restaurant in the 500 block of Blake Road. It was about 2 a.m. when shots were fired and the victim was hit. Police have not said how many shots were fired, KSTP-TV reported.

The crowd of people then scattered before police took two of the men into custody. Police continued to look for other suspects. Police are still looking for two of the men. There has yet to be any information released about the victim as of Sunday morning.

The Hennepin County Crime Lab was contacted to process the scene, KSTP-TV said.

Children drown due to distracted driver

Five children drowned after their car veered off the road and slid down an embankment into a Houston, Texas bayou, CNN reported.

The driver of the car was distracted because of a cell phone he had answered, an adult passenger told police. The accident happened during massive flash flooding in Houston.

The driver, who the Houston Chronicle said was 32-year-old Chanton Jenkins, got out of the car with his brother and a 10-year-old girl. The chlidren killed in the accident included two girls, ages 1 and 3, and three boys, ages 4, 6 and 7.

Jenkins failed a field sobriety test before being taken to police headquarters for a blood sample, Houston police Officer John Cannon said. Depending on the results of the blood sample, criminal charges could be filed.

The car was found in 9 1/2 feet of water, however the doors could not be opened due to the strong current.

Officers found the bodies of the three boys and one of the girls early Sunday morning. One girl remains missing. Police said that Jenkins is the father of the three boys.

There's really no telling where we will discover the bodies, if we even will," Cannon said.

Jenkins has a criminal record going back to 1994 stemming from incidents including possession of a prohibited firearm and possession of a controlled substance.

An innocent motorist was killed by a driver being chased by police Saturday evening, KARE-TV has reported.

Before 7 p.m., a 33-year-old man assaulted a woman and stole her car from the 600 block of Highway 36, Roseville police said.

Roseville police chased the man but stopped after the suspect exhibited dangerous driving. Shortly after, the suspect was involved in a crash near I-35E and Larpenteur Avenue that killed a woman and sent a man to the hospital. The man is currently in serious condition.

An 8-year-old boy was discovered in the stolen vehicle and taken to Regions hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police have not released information regarding the relationship between the suspect and the child.

The suspect was booked into the Ramsey County Jail for probable cause of Criminal Vehicular Homicide. The suspect was intoxicated, investigators said.

A statement released by the police department said that no officers were pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash, the Star Tribune has reported.

April 18, 2009

US will boycott UN racism conference

Next week's UN forum on racism will be boycotted by the US due to a disagreement concerning Israel and freedom of speech, BBC News reports. The state department called the guiding document of the conference unacceptable after being amended.

The US said that their decision not to attend was final due to it being too late to address critical problems with the conference, JTA reported.

The US found the newer additions to the text regarding 'incitement' to be obstructive to unfettered free speech, the state department said in a statement.

The US said they were also alarmed about language in the text which concerned an "incitement to religious hatred."

The decision of whether or not to attend has raged in the US for weeks, the Associated Press news agency said.

The participation of the US in the conference was opposed by Pro-Isreal groups and supported by human rights organizations like TransAfrica. Canada and Israel have said they would not attend and EU diplomats are still considering.

April 12, 2009

Analysis: Week of 4/6 (Diversity)

The article avoids stereotypes by talking about how this is the first time that gay families have been invited to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. I did not previously know how the White House invited families to the Easter Egg Roll. I also did not know that this was the first time that the White House seeked out homosexual families to come to the Egg Roll.

The article uses both quotes and data to tell information that I previously did not know. For instance, data on exactly how many LGBT families will participate. Quotes are also used to reveal more personal details for more of a storytelling aspect. The article quotes the gay couple talking about how long the couple has been together and what the kids want to see at the White House.

Man charged with attempting to start fire at MOA

A Minneapolis man has been charged with three felonies after allegedly making terroristic threats and starting a fire, the Star Tribune reported.

Andrew Nietz, 24, received two charges of terroristic threats and one charge of arson from both April 1 and April 6. Nietz told officers he had an "incendiary device" at the mall.

According to the complaint, Nietz had aerosol in his backpack when it exploded and caught fire in the third-floor transit area. Nietz also said he was a terrorist and had rocket-propelled grenades and a knowledge of guns.

Nietz was put on a 72-hour mental-health crisis hold six days before police again found Nietz at the mall, this time allegedly trying to light transit brochures on fire and threatening the life of a security officer and his family.

If convicted, Nietz faces 10 years and a $17,500 fine for the arson charge and three years and a $3,000 fine for each terroristic threat, KAAL-TV said.

April 11, 2009

Discovered body not that of Zamlen

The Star Tribune has reported that a body discovered in debris in the Mississippi River was not the body of a missing student from the University of St. Thomas, police said.

The body, which was found to be female, was discovered by barge company employees on the intersection of Childs and Shepard Roads.

A woman who was seen jumping from a nearby bridge a few weeks ago matched the description of the discovered body, St. Paul police spokesman Peter Panos said.

Dan Zamlen, the missing St. Thomas freshman, is still being searched for by volunteers. Zamlen was said to have been at the intersection of Mississippi River Boulevard S. and St. Clair Avenue before his phone cut out. Police have searched for him by both boat and helicopter but have since stopped searching.

The medical examiner's office said it hopes to be able to have more information by Monday on the discovered body's identity, KARE-TV reported.